The Seven Shepherds of
Micah and The Ships of Kittim
The Bible teaches that there will be seven nations who will assume the
responsibility of taking care of Israel during the tribulation. God calls
these nations shepherds. One of these nations will be the United States of
America. We will be the anti-Christ's number one enemy. The scriptures
show 7 nations who will deal the anti-Christ a terrible blow. They will
literally drive the anti-Christ out of the Holy Land sometime during the
last 3-1/2 years. In Micah the fifth chapter we find these seven nations
hidden in scripture for us to find in our day and time.
Micah 5:2-6 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me
that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting.
3: Therefore will he give them up, until the time
that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his
brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4: And he shall
stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of
the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the
ends of the earth.
5: And this man shall be the
peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when
he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him
seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
6:
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and
the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from
the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he
treadeth within our borders."
These scriptures found in Micah are telling us that out of Israel the
Messiah would come. They also tell us that in the latter days Israel would
experience troubles that will be like travail to bring forth children,
Assyria will invade Israel. When this happens Jesus will rise up seven
shepherds and eight principal men who will drive the Assyrian all the way
back to the old city of Babylon. This is only 80 miles from Baghdad, Iraq.
The land of Nimrod is Babylon. Both the nations of Assyria and Babylon
make up the modern day nation of Iraq. These people will be part of the
ten nations of the antichrist during the tribulation. This is showing a
time coming that they will be driven out of Israel. This will occur during
the last 3-1/2 years of the tribulation.
The mystery in this story is "who are the seven shepherds and the eight
principal men?" This mystery is revealed through scripture. As Gentiles we
have conditioned our minds to only see ourselves when reading the Old
Testament. This has caused serious problems when it comes to understanding
Bible Prophecy. We have blinded our own minds by our own vanity. When we
read these scriptures we try to see everything from a Gentile church
prospective. This is the way God has preserved most of the Old Testament
prophecies, simply by the way we think. We hide them from ourselves. Let's
look at these scriptures.
Jeremiah 23:
1: Woe be unto the pastors that destroy
and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
2:
Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed
my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not
visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith
the LORD.
3: And I will gather the remnant of my flock out
of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring
them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4:
And I will set up shepherds over them which shall
feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall
they be lacking, saith the LORD.
In order to explain these scriptures I must tell you that the pastors
and shepherds are the same thing. God is warning the pastors that destroy
and scatter the sheep of his pasture. Because we have preached and taught
these scriptures as being preachers over congregations we blind ourselves
to the real meaning of these scriptures.
Let's take a closer look at verse 3. God says that he is going to
gather the remnant of his flock out of all countries whither he
has driven them, and will bring them again to the folds; and
they shall be fruitful and increase. Verse 4 tells us that he is going to
give them new shepherds that will feed them and
they will have no need to fear any more.
If you know anything about the history of the Jews from the time of
Christ, you will understand what I am getting ready to share with you. The
scripture that you have just read is a prophecy written as an allegory. It
is about Israel being driven into the world. God has driven Israel into
all the nations of the world, and he is holding all of these nations
responsible for Israel's welfare and safekeeping. He is calling the
governments of the nations "Pastors or Shepherds". He is warning the
nations that have mistreated Israel "he would visit upon them the evil of
their doings." In other words, He is going to punish them for the way they
have treated his people Israel. Remember the promise that God gave to
Abraham? That whoever blessed him, God would bless, but, he also said that
whoever cursed him he would curse. What we do to Israel, we are doing to
Abraham.
God then promised to give Israel over to new shepherds who would take
care of them and that they would never be afraid anymore. God has already
done just that. These scriptures have been fulfilled in just the last two
hundred years. Israel has been killed and persecuted in every nation of
the world. For the most part they have lived in Russia, Europe, and
nations around the Mediterranean Sea. In all of these countries horrible
things have been inflicted upon them. The first group of Jews came to
America somewhere around 1650 from Brazil, which was just 30 years after
the Pilgrims arrived in America. They have been a part of our history from
our very beginnings. In the last two hundreds years God has slowly brought
the Jews to America and other countries like her that will not do the
Jewish people any harm. America was the first country in the world to give
the Jewish people equal citizenship. We are blessed because of it. At the
present time there are more Jews living in America than any nation in the
world including the nation of Israel itself. We have six million living in
America compared to 4.8 million there.
God has given Israel new Shepherds and has delivered them from the fear
of persecution in these countries. In America the Jewish people prosper
more than they have ever prospered in their entire history. So much to the
point that most Jewish peoples in America has no desire to return to
Israel. God is blessing them here, but there are other countries that
treat the Jews well also. We are the countries (shepherds) that God has
provided to blessed his people Israel. During the tribulation we will
defend Israel against the anti-Christ. In fact we will drive him
completely out of Israel sometime during the last 3 1/2 years. This is why
he will call for help from other nations at the time of Armageddon.
Remember? Israel is gone; they have escaped for 3 1/2 years. They are not
home. Yet the anti-Christ sends for nations to come and help him go down
against Jerusalem for the Battle of Armageddon. Think about this for a
moment. We all know that the anti-Christ is going to invade Israel and go
into the temple to declare that he is God. Since he has already taken
Israel, why would he be in a position to have to re-take it at the end of
the seven years? The answer to this question is that he will be forced to
leave Israel sometime between the middle and the end of the seven years of
tribulation. We, Israel's Allies, will be the reason that he will come
down. He will be coming to make war with us and the other nations who are
helping her.
In Revelation it says that they are coming down to make war against
Christ. For armies to literally make war against Jesus in this light is
probably not true in the sense that we see it. When Paul was persecuting
the Church, He was not literally persecuting Jesus. Yet, Jesus said to
him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Paul was persecuting the
followers of Christ not Jesus. To Jesus it is one and the same. This is
what is going to happen during the tribulation period. The anti-Christ is
going to wage war against God's people. At Armageddon they will be coming
against the nations who are in Israel to defend her against the enemies of
God. To God they are fighting against him. He will rapture those nations
that are there to help him defend Israel basically because almost every
one of these people in these armies will be born again by that time.
Simply because they will recognize the hour they are living. They will
know that it is the Battle of Armageddon!
Christ will rapture these nations along with the rest of his believers
from all over the world, to take them to the marriage supper of the lamb.
No doubt the anti-Christ will wonder what happened to his enemies. It
won't be long, for he is about to find out, when supper is over these
nations will return with Jesus and all his saints to put the anti-Christ
in his place.
Look at these scriptures again in the 5th chapter of Micah.
5:
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian
shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then
shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal
men.
6: And they shall waste the land of
Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof:
thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh
into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
In verse 5 the seven shepherds are the seven nations who take care of
Israel. The eight principal men are the seven leaders of these nations.
Jesus himself will be the eighth principal man. These scriptures declare
it. In the 5th verse it says, "and this man shall be the peace, when the
Assyrian shall come into our land." These Assyrians will be part of the
ten nations of the antichrist. Think on this: This fifth chapter of Micah
is talking about Jesus the Messiah. In 722 BC the Assyrians took Israel
captive. Afterwards they tried to take the Southern Kingdom called Judah,
which was ruled by Hezekiah at that time. God fought for Israel and drove
the Assyrians back, but it was not by any man's hand. There is no Bible
record of seven Shepherds and eight Principal men doing anything at that
time. The events we are looking at will happen in the last days. This is
talking about in our time, not then. It is clearly showing these events
happening after Jesus had become the Messiah. There has never been a time
such as this.
One of the most amazing things to me is found in the 11th chapter of
Daniel. I suppose the thing that amazes me is the way we have tried to
make scripture say what we want it to. If we didn't know the answer, we
would make up one. Until recently God hasn't revealed the book of Daniel.
But today most pastors, if approached by a member of their own
congregations with a question about it, would supply that person with an
answer. Isn't that amazing? Pride is a terrible thing. Instead of saying
we did not know, or if we pray maybe God would give us the answer, we
would give them an answer whether it was right or wrong! This is the
condition of most American pastors. We just don't want anyone to think
that we don't know. What do you think that Jesus thinks about all of
this?
Many of our Bible theologians have been to college but have never been
born again by the Spirit of God. We accept their instructions as if it
were flawless. Amazing. In the 11th chapter of Daniel beginning at verse
21 we see the anti-Christ make his appearance. From verse 21 to the rest
of this chapter it is talking about the anti-Christ, yet in verse 30 they
try to say that this is talking about the Romans long ago. Let me share
with you one of the greatest mysteries the Church has never seen but is
about to embrace. The teachers who have tried to teach this is as being
the Romans did not realize what they were teaching. Read with me in Daniel
for just a minute; It is commonly believed that verse 21 through the rest
of this chapter is talking about the anti-Christ. I personally believe
this myself.
Daniel 11:
21: And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to
whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in
peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
22: And with the arms
of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken;
yea, also the prince of the covenant.
23: And after the league made
with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become
strong with a small people.
24: He shall enter peaceably even upon the
fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers
have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the
prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices
against the strong holds, even for a time.
25: And he shall stir up his
power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and
the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and
mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices
against him.
26: Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall
destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down
slain.
27: And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and
they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the
end shall be at the time appointed.
28: Then shall he return into his
land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant;
and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
29: At
the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it
shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
30: For
the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be
grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so
shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that
forsake the holy covenant.
31: And arms shall stand on his part, and
they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the
daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh
desolate.
32: And such as do wickedly against the covenant
shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God
shall be strong, and do exploits.
Because people have been unable to explain the ships of Chittim they
have tried to teach that the ships of Chittim was something that occurred
around the time of Christ. I would like to give you a quote from The
Holman Bible Dictionary.
"Kittim (kit' tim) Tribal name for the island of
Cyprus, sometimes spelled Chittim. This name was derived
from Kition, a city-state on the southeastern side of the island. Long
associated with maritime lore, the island was ruled first by Greece, then
the Assyrians, and finally, Rome. Genesis 10:4 traces the people's roots
to Noah's son Japheth. Jeremiah and Ezekiel both mention it in their
prophecies (Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6, compare Isaiah
23:1,12).
Kittim is used in intertestamental writings as denoting all of the land
west of Cyprus.
1st Maccabees credits it as being
the land of Alexander the Great (1:1, 8:5). The writer of Daniel
understood it to be a part of the Roman Empire (11:30) used to threaten
Antiochus Epipanes. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain several references to
Kittim, the most notable being the defeat of her people (Romans) at the
hands of God's people. See Cyprus."